12 Days and 5917 Miles
by fujoshisx2
Summary: 12 days and 5917 miles is the total distance between them, but Christmas finally brings them together.


_**12 Days and 5917 Miles**_

_Distance: 12 Days and 5917 miles._

The Christmas lights already lit up the entire city - even if it was actually almost two weeks away from Christmas.

Leon looked at his watch; it was almost midnight. But in the city that never rests, the streets were still as lively as it was during day time.

Even if there were hundreds of thousands of people surrounding him, he still stood alone, and felt isolated in the seasonal atmosphere. There were couples everywhere; young ones acting all lovey-dovey, married ones with children asleep in their arms talking about holiday plans.

It was not that he was not seeing anyone, but that person lived at the other side of the planet and was probably at work and could not answer his messages. It always took him a whole day to go all the way to Iceland, and was the same way the other way round.

He wished that the 'someone' was here with him, holding his cold hands while they gaze up upon the gorgeous firework display.

The time on his phone showed '00:00am' and the countdown went down from thirteen to twelve.

Just twelve days before he could see the one he was missing so much again.

When he was so occupied in his own thoughts, the buzzing of his phone all in a sudden gave him a minor fright.

_It's only 4pm here and it's already dark as hell._

Leon smiled as he read Emil's message. He remembered the old days when he still lived in England; the miserable winter which was cold and rainy, and the sky was always dark when he got off work. He could imagine what a dreary place Iceland would be during December.

_I can't wait to see you._

There was an almost-instant reply afterwards.

_Same here. How long has it been? Three months?_

Leon recalled the last time he saw him, which was-

_Precisely three months and fifteen days._

106 days. It had been almost a third of this year since they last met in Reykjavík.

Compared to this number, 12 seemed like nothing at all.

_I have to go now. I miss you._

A cold breeze suddenly blew through the harbor. Leon wrapped himself tighter with the Nordic pattern jacket Emil gave him last year. With it even the weather was freezing cold, he could feel the warmth of a fireplace.

Sarcastically, that was a gift from a person who came from a cold place and acted the same way, but the only thing he could ever be to Leon was warmth.

Just 12 days, and they would meet again.

* * *

><p>As the door cracks open, Emil's breath caught in his throat. A whip of icy air stroke his face like knives.<p>

The world had turned white.

As far as one could see, a thick blanket of newly-fallen snow enveloped the ground. There were no footsteps that interrupted the smoothness of the whiteness. One step out the door, and his boots already sunk halfway through the thickness of the snow.

If there was one thing that he hated about his country, it was the darkness of the coldest days of the year.

With only a few hours of daylight and a temperature always below zero, there was not really anything one could enjoy during the winter except for having a hot drink while in a fully-heated house. Those were the two things that Emil was craving for at the moment.

He quickly got into his car and switched on his phone. There were a couple of messages all the way from 5917 miles away from his home. They were mostly pictures of the beautiful scenery at night when all the decorations were lit up.

It had been quite a while since he last visited that city, and he had to admit that he liked their winter very much. It was always reasonably cold, and they still got extra sunlight to spare.

It just made him miss Leon even more.

In this time of the year he could see the Northern lights above the dark sky, flashing different colors and shapes which was ever so fascinating. Although he loved watching the scenery, it was all too quiet.

With such a sparse population, it was very rare for a big crowd to view it together.

He tried to deny his loneliness but had to admit to himself that he needed a certain person to be by his side.

Maybe what they were feeling right now was the same stream of breeze which blew all the way through the Pacific Ocean to reach other other side of the planet…

And somehow they could still feel each other even when they were 12 days and 5917 miles away from each other.

* * *

><p>Before Leon went to the airport, he confirmed that Emil's plane was not delayed due to the snowstorm in Northern Europe. He stood outside the terminal gate, waiting as the music in his headphones drowned out all the noises.<p>

It was already three in the afternoon. The flight should arrive at half past two, so Emil would appear in any moment.

Another crowd weary passengers with their heavy luggages walked out. In the crowd, there was a boy looking around seventeen with silver-white hair who particularly stood out in the crowd.

Emil looked around, hoping to see a familiar face standing in the line of hundreds of people waiting for their family and friends to arrive.

"Iceland!" shouted Leon. He wanted to wave but paused halfway through when Emil turned and saw him.

"Hong ... Hong Kong," Emil said haltingly.

Fortunately, nobody cared enough to listen to their conversation.

"Sorry, it's just that-"

"I get it," Emil smiled. "It's been such a long time."

"This is so awkward. Aren't we supposed to be dating?"

They both laughed a bit, and thought about how ridiculous they were to even feel nervous the night before.

"You've got lots of stuff with you?"

"Not too much."

"Well then, let me take you too see the fireworks."

_Distance: 0 days and 2 inches._


End file.
